Commentary

The faux fight for Christmas

Backdrop on the annual year-end culture war

by Ken Sehested

"Every company in America should be on its knees thanking Jesus for being born.
Without Christmas, most American businesses would be far less profitable."
—Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly

I have to admit it was a bit embarrassing to watch the social media outrage of “progressive” Christians (and no, I’m not fond of the modifier) stirred up by the apparent indignation of “traditional” Christians that Starbucks would serve its brews in plain red cups, with nothing but their logo—a 16th century Norse woodcut of a twin-tailed mermaid—instead of those more hallowed images of snowflakes, snowpeople and snow-scened carolers.

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Epiphany: Learning to see what’s really real

A sermon for Epiphany Sunday

by Ken Sehested
Text: Matthew 2:1-12

            Before examining the text, let me first do some interpretation of this service. We’re doing two special recognitions this evening: earlier we did the blessing of Jessica and Rich, and at the end of the service we will commission those traveling to Cuba this next week.

            Welcoming a child into the world, whether by birth or adoption, is still among the most profound callings. This is true even though some who dearly want to have children are not able to do so. And crossing the boundary of enmity, to build relationships with friends in Cuba, is an extraordinary witness to the Gospel word. Some of the legislation governing U.S. relations with Cuba are officially called “Trading with the Enemy” Act.

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A saint for the fourth Sunday of Advent

The story of Dominican Friar Antonio Montesinos’ dramatic call to repentance for Spanish brutal treatment of indigenous peoples on the island of Española

by Ken Sehested

        Six year before Luther commenced his Ninety-Five Theses’ complaint with the Roman church, another priest scandalized the colonizing Spanish authorities with a sermon.

        It was the fourth Sunday of Advent, 1511—half a millennium ago—on the island of Española (modern Haiti and Dominican Republic). Three years prior, three Dominican monks had arrived as Spain’s first missionaries to the territory.

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Who’s St. Nicholas?

Tracing Santa Claus' history to a fourth century saint

by Colleen Kelly

Kids can spot Santa Claus in the twinkling of an eye. But who knows the real St. Nick, a spry guy with olive skin who lived in what's now Turkey and whose ample compassion inspired century after century of legend? We'll introduce you to him today.

Just the Facts

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Made Flesh Among Us

by Ken Sehested
Text: John 1:1-18

Background: Our congregation’s Christmas service was in one of our member’s farm barn, with a simple Christmas story reenactment interspersed with singing Christmas carols. The following Sunday we used the lectionary text from John 1.

        We had a wonderful Christmas at our house. All our kinfolk managed to safely dodge the worst of the weather. With 10 people in the house, two of them juiced-up preschoolers, shoveling snow and splitting firewood offered a welcome break from the clamor. Of course, it’s always a special treat to watch youngsters rip open Christmas gifts.

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Wilderness: Lenten preparation

A collection of biblical texts that speak of wilderness

•Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. Exod. 7:16

•The Israelites complained to Moses, “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” Exod. 14:12

•Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food. Num. 21:5

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Trust and obey

Reflections on living in the Spirit

by Ken Sehested
(unpublished lecture delivered at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, March 1993)
 

Two ancient texts to begin:

The Problem: Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. (Genesis 6:11)

The Solution: Heal the sick, and say to them, 'the reign of God has come near you.' (Luke 10:9)

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My ship of faith has many sails

What it means to live into particular religious identity in the midst of spiritual plurality

by Ken Sehested

        Near the end of seminary training, I made a listing of what had been the most important books in my theological education. As one reared in deep-water Baptist tradition, I was shocked to recognize that more than two-thirds of my “most important” guides were Roman Catholic authors.

        I now say that while my ship of faith has many sails, its mainsail is that legacy flowing from the anabaptist outburst of the 16th century (though that movement’s precursors stretch back to 14th century figures like the Czech priest Jan Hus and the Oxford theologian John Wycliffe—and even 13th century figures like St. Francis in Italy and the Beguine communities, a lay, semi-monastic order of single women (later repressed) in the Low Countries of Europe, all of whom dissented from  the church’s wealth and privilege.

        Long story short, my anchorage among the Radicals stems from two reasons: First, because of their thoroughgoing affirmation of what I call the “democratizing of access to the holy” and, correspondingly, their undermining of all notions of political sovereignty. Second, the anabaptist majority’s (there were dissenters on this score) refusal, on theological grounds, to wield the sword in defense of the state. (For more on this, see “Public reasoning and ekklesial reckoning: Commentary on the Vatican conference calling for ‘spirituality and practice of active nonviolence’ to displace church focus on just war” and "Enough of this! Toward a theology of nonviolence: Why I don’t often use the language of ‘pacifism’.”)

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Eucharistic conventions

Why we practice these (somewhat) odd manners at the Lord’s Table

by Ken Sehested

        When three of us began daydreaming about a starting a new congregation,
during long hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the first year of the new millennium,
one of the things we immediately imagined was worship centered around communion,
including placing the table in the center of our seating. Every Sunday—which is unusual
in Protestant bodies. None of us were raised that way. This tangible ritual act—of
re-membering in the midst of a dismembered world—is poignantly expressive of our
theological vision.

        Moreover, we wanted to do this with bodies in motion, as an act of intentionality,
requiring each to stand, to walk, to mingle in random, status-scrambling order with
others, encircling a round table—with the offering plate right there on the table
sharing space with the cup and homemade Host, along with hand-picked flowers, one
or more candles burning in remembrance of those not present and, on occasion,
pastoral letters of encouragement or prophetic challenges issued from the congregation
and signed by all so willing.

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